1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to germicidal lamp systems and apparatuses and, more specifically, to lamp and reflector arrangements for lamp systems and apparatuses having a plurality of germicidal lamps.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following descriptions and examples are not admitted to be prior art by virtue of their inclusion within this section.
Pathogenic microorganisms are becoming increasingly resistant to antimicrobial pharmaceuticals and, thus, treating germicidal infections are getting more difficult to treat. As a consequence, thorough disinfection of surfaces and objects is becoming increasingly important as a preventive measure against exposure. Examples of disinfection applications include sterilization of surgical tools, food and pharmaceutical packaging, decontamination of fluid streams, and area/room decontamination (e.g., disinfection of surfaces and objects in hospital rooms or for agricultural operations). It is known that irradiation of ultraviolet (UV) light in the spectrum between approximately 200 nm and approximately 320 nm is effective in deactivating and, in some cases, killing microorganisms, giving cause for the use of ultraviolet light technology for disinfection applications. Within the past few years, violet wavelengths of visible light in the spectrum between approximately 380 nm and approximately 420 nm and particularly centered on 405 nm (known as high-intensity narrow-spectrum (HINS) light) have been proven to be effective in deactivating and, in some cases, killing microorganisms. Thus, the use of HINS technology is being contemplated as an additional or alternative manner for disinfection applications.
Although different types of lamps have been investigated to provide UV light for different disinfection applications, little has been done to improve the propagation of UV light (i.e., distance and angle of incidence on a target object) in disinfection apparatuses. A reason for such a lack of advancement is that many disinfection apparatuses having UV lamps, such as food sterilization and single object disinfection devices, are configured to treat items placed in close proximity and in direct alignment with a lamp and, thus, little or no improvement in efficiency of the UV light may be realized by altering its propagation. Furthermore, room/area decontamination systems are specifically designed to disperse light over a vast area and, thus, altering UV propagation from such systems may hinder such an objective. At the current time, use of HINS light in disinfection systems is in its infancy of development. No configurations are known which aid the propagation of HINS light to improve its disinfection efficacy in a room or for any other disinfection application other than what is used in conventional UV disinfection apparatuses.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to develop germicidal lamp apparatuses having features and/or configurations of components which improve the propagation of germicidal light toward desired objects and/or regions of a room in order to improve disinfection efficiency of the apparatus. In addition, it would be beneficial to develop room/area decontamination systems which are more effective and more efficient than conventional room/area decontamination systems.